Reviews with content warning for Rape - A Court of Wings and Ruin

Wow - this book had me in a chokehold, to be honest. Every free second I had this past week I was reading it and couldn't put it down! That being said, ACOMAF is still my fave in the series thus far.

Here are some of my fave and least fave parts of this book:
Faves - learning more about the high lords and other courts, LGBTQ+ representation in multiple significant characters

Spoiler

my jaw was on the FLOOR in the part with Mor :,) and Nephelle and her wife were so wholesome and I loved that their story inspired Feyre

, the complicated moments between Feyre/Tamlin

Spoiler

the mix of hate, gratitude, and acknowledgment of the past made this (lack of a) relationship much more palpable and real to me

, Nesta's character being given more purpose and dark mystery, and how Feyre developed deeper relationships and trust in all of the members of the Night Court.

Least faves - this is going to sound very contradictory but one of my biggest dislikes of this book was how instantaneously problems were solved, however, I really like that Maas does not drag on scenes/problems longer than necessary.

Spoiler

For instance, Cassian and Azriel were injured SO many times during this book, especially their wings which are described to be so precious and strong yet delicate however every time they were healed within a very brief time. And when Feyre unbound Amren with the cauldron and Rhys died and was brought back in the exact same way Feyre was - it just felt too simple an answer to me. I was waiting for it to be a hoax for the rest of the book.

Also, there were some things that were almost offputting in how easy (?) they were to be set up to be solved later in the plot

Spoiler

i.e. Nesta and Elain BOTH having situationships with Cassian and Azriel (after Rhys and Feyre are obviously the couple of the century) or Feyre's father being gone so long cause he was collecting an army.

All of that being said - I did enjoy this book and have told so many people in my life about how obsessed I am. I'm interested to see where the plot goes in the next 2

Spoiler

(and good riddance to the King of Hybern)

Content Warnings

nimeneth's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

ashley_mrose530's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this book but I don't think I connected with it as much as the first two. I'm not sure what it was really. Maybe the characters' struggles didn't really jump out as much as the first two? This one was definitely more plot focused with the war and everything leading up to it so that could definitely be what I was missing.
I really am questioning the pacing of this entire series with this one. Usually a four book series about a war has the actual war in the last book not the third book. It kind of feels like either this wasn't planned out very well or this was originally supposed to be a three-book series. I'm not sure which one I'm leaning toward more though. I'm left wondering what the last book is going to be about

Spoiler

(I've read the blurb and know that it's in Nesta's POV so I'm guessing it'll be similar to the second book where she works through getting over what happened during the war)

. I think Maas does her character-centered books really well, but this one and the series in general feel a little disjointed.

Content Warnings

cocoa_butter12's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

clare072's review

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Content Warnings

giraffae's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I‘d say the pace is a bit weird at places. The first 100p a lot happens, then nothing for 300p or so and then the finale hits. That finale is grand though. And though I wish some characters had been integrated into the sory better and focused on more, if you love the main characters you‘ll have a splendid time.
The author is very good at
capturing the main characters’ trauma as well as writing genuine horror elements into the plot where you least expect them.
Any complains I do have mostly stem from the previous two installments and differnece in taste between me and the author. I can respect that she focuses on other aspects of the story and characters and her disregard for things I would have love to see.

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